UAE-owned firm Hits has been granted the fourth national telecom licence for the East African country of Uganda, the company said last week.

Hits, a subsidiary of UAE-based Middle East and African Investment Company (MEAIC), confirmed its award of a Public Infrastructure and Public Service Provider's Licence in Uganda; the fourth after MTN, UTL and Celtel.

Hits has already begun to roll out a broadband network in Uganda as part of its initial US$150million investment in the country, and claimed the service would be fully operational by the end of this year.

To date the operator has successfully secured licences to operate GSM, 3G and WiMax networks in Uganda. "We have ambitious plans to penetrate the local telecoms market and shall install a state of the art network that will improve the country's telecoms sector," said Edwin Rowell, CEO of Hits Telecom Uganda.

Hits claimed the introduction of increased competition would result in the market doubling within five years from its existing base of 2.4 million subscribers.